Container with cover lock



Oct. 26, 1954 Filed July 9, 1953 L. E. JoHNsoN A 2,692,722

CONTAINER WITH COVER LOCK 2 Sheets-Sheet l I l /4102 I OGL 26, 1954 L. E. JOHNSON CONTAINER WITH COVER LOCK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 9, 1953 Patented Oct. 26, 1954 CONTAINER WITH OUVER LOCK Leonidas E. Johnson, Chattanooga, Tenn., as-

signor to Container Corporation of America, Chicago, Ill., ya corporation of Delaware Application July 9, 1953, Serial No. 367,021

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to locking containers and more particularly to a hinged cover container including telescoping body and cover portions having cooperating parts which automatically interlock when the cover is closed upon the body portion..

Still more specically, the invention is concerned with a collapsible paperboard container formed from a single blank or sheet of the paperboard material and including a body portion and a cover portion hingediy connected together and in which the two portions are independently collapsible to substantially flat condition in such a manner that, when each of them has been thus collapsed, the two collapsed portions of the container may be folded, one upon the other to produce a relatively nat structure which consumes but little space and which may `easily and rapidly be erected to useable form preparatory to filling the container and closure of the cover upon the filled body portion.

Collapsible hinged cover containers of the type briefly outlined above have possessed certain limitations in use and among these are the diiculty of retaining the cover portion closed upon the body portion so that it will not spring open, and also the lack of ease in manipulation of these containers in erecting the same from flat condition and in moving the cover to and from its closed position on the body portion. To retain the cover in its closed position, certain manual infolding operations must be performed on various naps or tabs and, more often than not, it is found that these tabs and flaps project inwardly of the container so as to interfere with the lling or the discharge of the contents of the container. Stated otherwise, the frictional resistance between the enclosing side walls of the cover portion and the side walls of the body portion of containers which are rigid because they are formed of material more substantial than paperboard, or which are rigid because they are y not collapsible albeit formed of paperboard, is

sisted of interengaging xed abutments on both the cover portion and on the body portion, either a permanent locking eect that is diicult to release is obtained, or, at the other extreme, an insuflicient interengagement between the abutments which is conducive toward unauthorized opening of the cover will result. Where the interlocking means consists of a swingable or fold- .able flap on one part and a fixed abutment on the other part, a sort of toggle action must be relied upon to maintain the parts interengaged. This type of locking means has resulted in the necessity for extremely large displacement or .distortion of the cover part in an effort to release the locking means with the consequent danger of rupture of the cover portion. Furthermore, after the cover has once been opened or released, even if rupture of the cover has not occurred, the consequent. distortion .attendant upon release of the cover renders the parts ill fitting so that reclosure of the cover is difficult and a tight t is unattainable.

The present invention is designed to overcome the above noted limitations that are attendant upon the use of collapsible hinged cover containers and, toward this end, it contemplates the provision of interengaging locking means on the cover .and body portions of the container in the form of a hinged abutment ap and a fixed abutment respectively, the flap and abutment presenting interlocking shoulders which engage each other along a diagonal line lying in a plane which is substantially coincident with the plane of one of the body portion side walls. The hinged abutment nap is preferably associated with the front iiange of the cover section and the iixed abutment with the front-wall panel of the body section, although a reversal of this arrangement may be resortedv to without departing from the principles of the invention or sacrificing the advantageous features thereof.

The advantages just referred to are manifold and principal among them is the ease with which the cover section may be released from. the body section by voluntary manipulation when desired. Because of the diagonal or angular line of engagement between the hinged abutment flap and the cooperating fixed abutment, the effective length or extent of the hinged abutment nap is diminished in proportion to the cosine of the angle involved and the necessary displacement of the cover ange from its normal position to effect release of the cover section is well within the limits of endurance of the paperboard material of which the container is formed. In addition to this, when effecting manual release of the cover section from the body section, movement of the meeting edges of the hinged abutment flap away from the abutment is a progressive one so that only small manual force is required to break the toggle action which serves to hold the cover part closed upon the body part.

An additional advantage of the present container construction resides in the adaptability of the container fold lines to the provision of the aforesaid hinged abutment i-lap and to the provision of the fixed cooperating abutment. In other words, and to be more specic, the body portion of the container is p-rovided with collapsible corner constructions, two of which by their very nature afford the desired diagonally extending abutment edges which constitute the fixed abutment. Similarly, the cover portion of the container is provided with collapsible corner constructions, two of which present free terminal end flaps or tabs that are readily foldable by turning the same out of their normal planes so that they will constitute the hinged abutment naps designed for locking cooperation with the respective fixed abutments.

The provision of a collapsible hinged cover container of the character brieiiy outlined above and possessing the stated advantages thereof being among the principal objects of the invention, a further object is to provide such a container in which the diagonally facing interengaging edges of the xed abutment nap and of the hinged abutment flap are brought into interlocking engagement when the cover section is closed upon the body section and are confined in such interlocking relation between the outer face of the front wall of the body section and the inner face of the cover section front flange. By thus confining the hinged abutment flap and the fixed abutment, the opposed overlapping faces of the cover and body sections restrain the hinged abutment ap from swinging movement which would tend to cause release of the interlocking abutment edges.

Hinged cover containers constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention are leakproof, particularly if formed of strong waxed paperboard and, as a consequence such containers will be found useful in connection with the packaging of commodities containing moisture such as frozen shrimp or other sea food and a wide variety of other frozen or semi-dry products.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention, not at this time enumerated, will become more readily apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings forming a part of this specification, a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown.

In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of an assembled closed collapsible hinged cover container constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. In this view the cover portion of the container is, in part, closed upon the body portion and, in part, in its open position, the cover portoin being divided or separated for purpose of such illustration.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view of one end of the closed container. In this view, portions of the composite front flange of the cover portion have been broken away to more clearly reveal the nature of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the container showing the cover portion slightly elevated from its fully closed position on the body portion. In this view portions of the composite front iiange of the cover portion have been broken away to illustrate the interlocking means on the cover and body portions.

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the assembled container showing the same in a partially collapsed condition with the cover portion swung outwardly away from the body portion.

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the container in its fully collapsed condition, and

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a blank from which the improved container of the present invention is formed.

Referring now to Fig. 6, there is shown for illustrative purposes a blank IU suitably cut and scored to provide both the body portion and the cover portion of the container which, in its assembled form, is shown in l. The score line I2 serves to divide the blank into two sections, namely the container body section It on the left side of the line I2 as seen in Fig. 6, and the body section I6 on the right side of the line I2. To facilitate an understanding of the container as a whole, separate descriptions of the body section Iii and cover section IIi will be made, followed by a description oi the manner in which these two sections cooperate with each other when moving the cover section from open to closed position and vice versa.

Still referring to Fig. 6, the body portion of the container includes a bottom wall i8, end walls 2D and 22, a front wall 23 and a rear wall 24. The end walls 2t and 22 are hingedly connected to the bottom wall I8 along score lines 2t and 28 respectively. The front wall 23 is connected to the end walls 20 and 22 by bellows folds including triangular bellows parts 3G and 32 hinged together along diagonal fold lines 3d. The bellows parts 39 are hinged to the front wall 23 along score lines 3S and the bellows parts 32 are hinged to the end walls 2B and 22 along score lines 3E.

At the rear of the container body, i. e. adjacent the blank-dividing score line I2, similar bellows folds including bellows parts do and 42 hinged along lines it serve to connect the end walls 20 and 22 to the rear wall 24.

A reinforcing flap L58 is hinged to the front wall 23 along a fold line 5G for a purpose that will be made clear presently.

The container body is assembled by bending the front and rear walls 23 and 2d respectively, and the end walls 2li and 22 at right angles to the bottom wall I3. Bellows parts 32 and 32 are folded into face-to-iace relation along lines 34 and then folded fiat against the front wall 22 on the outside face thereof as seen at the extreme right hand corner of the container in the position in which it is illustrated in Fig. l. Similarly, bellows parts @il and Q2 are folded o-ver one another along lines dd and then folded ldat against the inside face of the rear wall 2d as seen at the upper corner of the container as viewed in Fig. l. The various bellows folds may be held in position by means of staples 52 or the like.

The thus assembled body portion of the container may be collapsed to the condition shown in Fig. 5, this view being an underneath or bottom plan view. To make such collapse of the body portion possible, a pair of diagonal fold lines 54 in the blank extend from the front lower corners 56 (Figs. 1 and 6) of the body portion I4 toward each other in converging relationship and traverse both the front wall 22 and the reinforcing flap 48. A `diagonal fold line 58 extends across each end wall from the rear lower corners BD of the body portion I4. The fold lines 54 and 58, in the blank, preferably extend at a 45 angle with respect to the longitudinal dimension of the blank.

When the assembled body portion of the container is completely set up for use with the front wall 23, rear wall 24 and end walls 28 and 22 extending at right angles to the bottom wall I8, the reinforcing flap 48 may be turned inwardly at a right angle to the front wall 23 to maintain the front wall against collapse along the fold lines 54. With the front wall 23 thus held in its vertical position against collapse, suflicient tension will be placed upon the end walls 28 and 22 to maintain them in their vertical position against collapse along the fold lines 58. The provision of the reinforcing ap 48 is not essential to the present invention but it will be found useful when the container is employed for the packaging of semi-solid or bulk material inasmuch as its presence renders the container body portion self-supporting or, in other words, gives it good stay-open qualities. Where the container is employed for packaging a solid, as for example a block of frozen foodstuff such as frozen shrimp, the rigidity of the container contents will suffice to maintain the box body against collapse.

As shown in Fig. 4, when the reinforcing ap 48 extends in the plane of the front wall 23, the front wall may be swung inwardly of the contaner body and folded fiat against the bottom wall I8. Since the diagonal fold lines 54 are on a 45 bias as previously described, the folded edges 34 of the bellows folds 30, 32 substantially coincide with the fold lines 54 in the assembled body. Thus, when the front wall 23 is folded fiat against the bottom wall I8, the bellows parts 32 lie at against the outside face of the front wall 23 as shown in Fig. 5. At the same time that the front wall 23 is moved inwardly of the body portion of the container, the end walls and 2'2 will swing inwardly so as to in part overlie the end regions of the front wall 23. The triangular parts 62 of the end walls 28 and 22 dened by the diagonal fold lines 58, will upon inward collapse of the end walls 2D, fold over upon and lie fiat against the outer face of their respective end walls. At the same time, the bellows folds 40, 42 will become superimposed upon the triangular parts 62 while the rear` wall 24 will overlie the bellows folds.

When the body portion of the container is in its fully folded and substantially fiat condition as shown in Fig. 5, there will be six superimposed thicknesses of the paperboard material in the vicinity of each front corner and of each rear corner of the collapsed structure. These six thicknesses at the front right hand corner 58 of the collapsed body portion as viewed in Fig. 5 are, in sequence, from top to bottom, the side wall 20, the folded over triangular part 5l of the front wall 23, the bellows fold part 3D, the bellows fold part 32, the front wall proper 23, and the bottom wall, I8. The six thicknesses at the rear left hand corner of the collapsed body portion as viewed in Fig. `5 are, in sequence, the rear wall 24, the bellows fold part 48, the bellows fold part 42, the triangular part 62 of the end wall '22, the end wall proper 22, and the bottom wall I8. The above described thicknesses of the paperboard material refer only to those which are included in the container body portion I4. Additional thicknesses of the material of the cover portion I6 overlie those already described as will be apparent when the nature of the cover is described in detail.

Referring again to Fig. 6, the cover portion I6 of the container includes a top wall l, end flanges 'I2 and 'I4, and a front flange 16. The top wall 'I0 is hinged to the rear wall 24 of the container body I4 along the score line I2. The end flanges 'I2 and 'I4 are hingedly connected to the top wall 'I0 along score lines 18 and 88 respectively. The front ange 'I8 is connected to the top wall "In along a score line 82. The front flange i8 is connected to each of the end flanges 'I2 and 'I4 by bellows folds including two trapezoidal bellows parts 84 and 86, the parts 86 each being formed with a triangular extension in the form of a flap 88 which is hinged to the part 86 along a fold line 90. The trapezoidal bellows parts 84 and 86 are hinged together along diagonal fold lines 92. The bellows parts 84 are hinged to the front flange IB along score lines 94 and the bellows parts 88 are hinged to the end flanges l2 and 'I4 along score lines 96. At the rear of the container cover I8, the end flanges 1:2 and 'I4 are separated from the bellows parts 48 of the container body I4 by cut lines 98.

At this point it should be noted that the triangular flaps 88 associated with the cover portion I6 of the cotnainer constitute the hinged abutment flaps which were previously mentioned in the earlier statement of the invention, and that the folded edges 34 (Fig. 4) associated with the body portion I4 of the container constitute the'cooperating fixed abutments likewise mentioned earlier. These hinged abutments and fixed abutments cooperate with one another in the assembled container when the cover portion is closed upon the body portion, all in a manner that will be made clear presently.

The container cover is assembled by bending the front cover ange 16 and the end flanges 'l2 and 'I4 at right angles to the top wall 78. rlhe trapezoidal bellows parts 84 and 86 are folded into face-to-face relation along lines 92 and then folded at against the front ange l5 on the inside face thereof as seen at the extreme upper end of Fig. 1. The triangular extensions 88 of the bellows parts 85, hereinafter referred to as the hinged abutment flaps, are then turned on the fold lines 90 throughout an angle of 180 where they will assume the approximate positions shown in Fig. 1. The bellows fold may be secured in position on the front flange by means of staples |00 or the like.

The assembled cover porton of the container may be collapsed to the condition shown in Fig. 5, this view being an underneath view of the entire collapsed container. Such collapse of the cover portion is made possible by a pair of diagonal fold lines |82 in the blank of Fig. 6 extending from the front top corners IM of the cover portion and `converging toward each other preferably at 45 angles with respect to the longitudinal dimension of the blank. The manner of collapsing the cover portion I4 is best illustrated in Fig. 4 wherein it may be seen that the front flange 'I5 may be swung inwardly of the container cover and folded fiat against the top wall lil. The two triangular parts |08 which are formed by virtue of the diagonal fold lines Ill2 will underlie the central portion of the front flange in faceto-face relation therewith. The bellows folds ,84, and hinged abutment flap 88 will thus be confined between the end walls 'l2 and .I4

7 respectively and the triangular parts |06 of the front ange 16.

With the cover portion i6 collapsed to its flat condition as shown in Fig. 5, there will be seven thicknesses of the paperboard material in the vicinity of the hinged abutment flaps 88. These thicknesses, in sequence from top to bottom are the top wall it, front iiange 'It proper, front flange part ist, bellows part 84, bellows part t6, hinged abutment flap 8E, and end flange 14.

One of the more important features of the present invention resides in the provision of the hinged abutment flaps 88 on the cover portion It and the cooperating xed abutments provided by virtue of the folded edges 34 of the bellows parts 3u and 3E on the body portion Hl. These parts cooperate with each other to normally retain the cover portion in closed position and are operative to resist opening of the cover within the limits of certain predetermined manual tensional or pulling stresses that may be applied to the cover portion to open the same. The manner of cooperation between these hinged and fixed abutments is best illustrated in Fig. 3 wherein the hinged and fixed abutments are shown in positions of close proximity. Such co'- operation between the abutment parts may also be visualized by anticipating the changing orientation of the hinged abutment flap G as the fragmentary portion of the container cover illustrated in Fig. 1 is swung forwardly and downwardly over the container body.

The illustration of Fig. 3 may be regarded as showing the cover portion I6 in the position it assumes during such downward swinging movement thereof and immediately prior to attainment of its fully closed position. Bearing this in mind, it will be observed that one edge Il!) of each hinged abutment flap 8i! assumes a position which is in parallelism with the folded edge 3d of an adjacent bellows fold 30, 32 of the container body I4. Since the cover portion l5 is slightly elevated above its closed position, it will be seen that as the cover is moved downwardly, the edge li of the hinged abutment flap will ultimately pass beyond or below the folded edge :ifi and, at such time the inherent resiliency or springiness of the paperboard material will cause the flap 88 to spring into face-to-face engagement with the front wall 23 of the container body portion ifi, at which time the two edges 34 and iiil will be in register and lie in the same plane and be confined between the front flange l of the cover portion and the front wall 23 of the body portion. The hinged abutment 88 may thus be regarded as a latch member which becomes latched beneath the folded edge 34 to retain the cover portion in closed position on the body portion of the container.

When it is desired to gain access to the contents of the container, upward pressure may be applied to the lower free edge of front flange i6 of the cover portion I6. Little if any stress is imposed upon the front wall 23 of the body portion of the container but a certain amount of compressional force is applied to the hinged abutment flaps and, as the cover is lifted upwardly and at the same time bowed outwardly, the hinged abutments flaps are gently urged out of their normal plane by a progressive swinging motion so that the edges Htl thereof move out of parallelism with the folded edge 34. The net result of this swinging movement ofthe hinged abutment flaps is that the extreme free ends, i. e. the pointed ends, of these flaps, ride upwardly in the crevices existing along the 45 folded edges 34 between the inner bellows parts 3G' and the face of the front wall 23 and ultimately are released by the folded edges 34 so that the cover portion may proceed in its upward path of swinging movement uninterruptedly. In other words, resistance to opening of the cover portion will be encountered at the outset and will continue but on a progressively diminishing scale until the hinged abutment flaps et extend at substantially obtuse angles to the front fiange it of the cover portion I6.

It is obvious that the hinged triangular abutment flaps 3s and fixed abutment fold 34 are shaped and proportioned so as to attain the desired resistance to normal tendencies for the cover portion to move to open position. It has been found that a most satisfactory container will result if the lines of collapsing movement for the container body portion it indicated at 54 and the lines of collapsing movement for the container cover portion I6 indicated at EQ2 are on a 45 bias, with the bellows fold lines Sli of the body portion and the bellows fold lines e2 of the cover portion likewise on a 45 bias, and with the bellows parts so proportioned to attain substantial coincidence between the bellows fold lines and lilies of collapse when the container is assembled.

It is contemplated that modified forms of bellows folds presenting a folded xed abutment edge or edges which extend at an angle other than the 45 angle illustrated herein may be employed. For example, a modified cut-away form of fold or a multifolded corner structure could be utilized to present such an edge or edges. In such an instance, the cooperating swinging abutment flaps will be either cut away or folded along a line so that the flaps will present cooperating abutment edges which are capable of interlocking with the fixed abutment edges. Thus, by utilizing different bias angles for the interlocking abutment edges, varying degrees of resistance to the opening movements of the cover portion of the container may be attained.

I claim:

l. In a reclosable locking paperboard container structure, an open-top body portion including upstanding front and rear walls and opposed end walls, a cover portion including a top wall, a depending front flange and depending end flanges, bellows corner folds connecting the front wall to each end wall and secured to the outer face of said front wall with the folded edge thereof facing downwardly to present a fixed abutment edge at a 45 angle relative to the lower edge of the front wall, bellows corner folds connecting the front flange to each end flange and secured to the inner face of said front iiange with the folded edge thereof facing upwardly, said last mentioned bellows folds each comprising two bellows parts, a portion of one part being reversed upon itself about a fold line and presenting an edge for latching engagement with one of said fixed abutment edges.

2. In a reclosable locking paperboard container structure, an open-top body portion including upstanding front and rear walls and opposed end walls, a cover portion including a top wall, a depending front flange and depending end flanges, bellows corner folds connecting the front wall to each end wall and secured to the outer face of said front wall with the folded edge thereof facing downwardly to present a iixed abutment edge, bellows corner folds connecting the front flange to each end flange and secured to the inner face of said front flange with the folded edge thereof facing upwardly, a portion of the bellows part of each of said last mentioned bellows folds remote from the surface of said front flange being reversed upon itself about a fold line and presenting an edge for latching engagement with one of said fixed abutment edges.

3. In a reclosable locking paperboard container structure, an open-top body portion including upstanding front and rear walls and opposed end walls, a cover portion including a top wall, a depending front flange and depending end flanges, bellows corner folds connecting the front wall to each end wall and secured to the outer face of said front wall with the folded edge thereof E facing downwardly, bellows corner folds connecting the front edge of each end flange to a side edge of said front flange and secured to the inner face of said front flange with the folded edge thereof facing upwardly, a portion of one bellows part of said last mentioned bellows folds being reversed upon itself about a fold line extending normal to the plane of said top wall and presenting an edge for latching engagement with one of said xed abutment edges.

4. In a reclosable locking paperboard container structure, an open-top body portion including upstanding front and rear walls and opposed end walls, a cover portion including a top wall, a depending front flange and depending end flanges, bellows corner folds connecting the front wall to each end wall and secured to the outer face of said front wall with the folded edge thereof facing downwardly to present a fixed abutment edge, bellows corner folds connecting the front flange to each end flange and secured to the inner face of said front flange with the folded edge thereof facing upwardly, a portion of the bellows part of each of said last mentioned bellows folds remote from the surface of said front flange being reversed upon itself about a fold line normal to the plane of said top wall and presenting an edge for latching engagement with one of said fixed abutment edges.

5. In a reclosable locking paperboard container structure, an open-top body portion including upstanding front and rear walls and opposed end walls, a cover portion including a top wall, a depending front flange and depending end flanges, bellows corner folds connecting the front wall to each end wall and secured to the outer face of said front wall with the folded edge thereof facing downwardly, bellows corner folds connecting the front edge of each end flange to a side edge of said front flange and secured to the inner face of said front flange with the folded edge thereof facing upwardly, a triangular portion of one of l0 the bellows parts of each of said last mentioned bellows folds being cut away and a similar portion of the other bellows part being reversed upon itself about a fold line and presenting an edge for latching engagement with one of said fixed abutment edges.

6. In a reclosable locking paperboard container structure, an open-top body portion including opstanding front and rear walls and opposed end walls, a cover portion including a top wall, a depending front flange and depending end flanges, bellows corner folds connecting the front wall to each end wall and secured to the outer face of said front wall with the folded edge thereof facing downwardly to present a fixed abutment edge, bellows corner folds connecting the front flange to each end flange and secured to the inner face of said front flange with the folded edge thereof facing upwardly, a triangular portion of the inside bellows part of each of said last mentioned bellows folds being cut away and a corresponding triangular portion of the outside bellows part being reversed upon itself about a fold line normal to the plane of the top wall. of the cover portion and presenting a linear edge for latching engagement with one of said fixed abutment edges.

7. In a locking paperboard container structure,

4an open-top body portion including upstanding front and rear walls and opposed end walls, a cover portion including a top wall hingedly connected to the upper edge of said rear wall, a depending front flange and end flanges, bellows corner folds connecting the front wall to each end wall and secured to the outer face of said front wall with the folded edge thereof facing downwardly, bellows corner folds connecting the front flange to each end flange and secured to the inner yface of said front flange with the folded edge thereof facing upwardly, said last mentioned bellows folds each comprising two bellows parts, one of which is reversed upon itself about a fold line normal to the lower edge of said front flange and presenting an edge for latching engagement with one of said folded edges of the first mentioned bellows folds.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 665,556 Webb Jan. 8, 1901 1,755,722 Bachmann Apr. 22, 1930 2,073,272 Wellman Mar. 9, 1937 2,373,730 Williamson et al. Apr. 17, 1945 2,437,835 Riege et al Mar. 16, 1948 

